The sanctum corridor narrowed the deeper they ventured, its walls folding inward like jagged fangs threatening to bite shut. Threads of pale blue light pulsed faintly within the stone's veins—cold and rhythmic, syncing to Max's heartbeat like a quiet chant from something ancient and long-buried.
It had been nearly two hours since the confrontation in the Obsidian Dome. The monstrous presence hadn't returned, but its residual pressure still pressed against their minds—like the lingering echo of a predator's roar after it vanishes into the dark.
Lian Yue remained quiet. Her breaths had steadied, but Max could still sense the tension coiled in her spine. Understandable. The echo from the fan, the emergence of the voidling, the fragment of memory that wasn't theirs—this wasn't just an inheritance site.
This was a grave.
A forgotten scar carved into the world—and someone clearly hadn't forgotten it.
"I think we're nearing the library's core," Lian Yue murmured, brushing her hand against a carved wall sigil. "The flow of the sanctum has changed. It's… too quiet. The kind of quiet that comes before something breaks."
Max gave a nod and halted at a new intersection.
Three arched paths split before them—identical in shape, carved in mirrored symmetry—but each carried a distinct aura. He activated his Origin Eyes, pupils narrowing into slit-like focus as overlapping spiritual information parsed into clear strata.
Left Corridor: Distorted spiritual threads… warped as if twisted by time.
Right Corridor: Trace elements of life essence—feral, hostile.
Middle Corridor: Stillness. Absolute, unnatural stillness.
That made him freeze.
Dead zones weren't natural inside active sanctums.
He stepped toward the center corridor and examined a flickering glyph half-etched into the stone. Unstable. Fragmented.
He reached out—
Click.
A low groan rumbled beneath their feet. The stone of the middle corridor cracked—but instead of collapsing, it unfurled like a lock disengaging. A spiral passage revealed itself, descending deep into the unknown.
Lian Yue raised a brow. "Are you always this lucky?"
Max gave a tired smile. "Not lucky. Just too paranoid to trust symmetry."
They stepped into the spiral descent together.
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The lower chamber was different.
Gone were the carvings. Gone was the pale glow.
It was a vast cavern of pure black stone—polished like onyx and colder than ice. Floating at the chamber's center was a lotus-shaped crystalline structure—composed of fractured jade, obsidian petals, and soulglass filaments, each piece rotating slowly in silence.
And inside it…
Max's Origin Eyes surged with involuntary power.
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🩸 [Status Window – Max]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Max
Age: 21 (Apparent) / 410 (True)
Origin: Eastern Grassland Tribes – Hidden Lineage
Realm Category: 2 – Ascension Realm
Major Realm: Spirit Ascension Realm
Minor Realm: Soul Pulse (98%)
Level Segment: Peak
Level: 15
Max Lifespan: 450 years
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Bloodline: Unknown Variant [Unidentified Mutation – Sealed Nodes]
Physique: Nascent Origin Vessel [Rare – Incomplete Awakening]
Primary Affinity: Temporal Flow (Low Tier Recognition)
Secondary Affinity: Unnamed Law Trace [Undefined]
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Cultivation Techniques:
• Origin Weaving Sutra (Intermediate – Stable)
• Spirit Breath Circulation Art (Advanced – Near Peak)
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Martial Skills:
• Breach Step (Intermediate – Spatial Shift)
• Falling Ember Palm (Basic – Force Focus)
• Lotus Guarding Form (Basic – Defensive Style)
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Eye Technique: Origin Eyes [Tier-1 – Minor Activation]
→ Enhanced Perception (Active)
→ Status View (Minor Realm +1)
→ Law Trace Detection (Passive)
→ Emotional Pulse (Awakening)
→ Vision Expansion (Partial – Locked)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Status: Stable, Alert
→ Origin Surge: Dormant (Detected)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
He stiffened. Origin Surge: Dormant.
That entry hadn't existed before.
It pulsed red—faint but undeniably real.
"What… is this place?" he whispered.
Lian Yue stepped up beside him, eyes drawn to the lotus construct. Her hand stretched out instinctively, fingers halting just before contact.
"It's not the library," she said. "It feels like a core. A sub-vault. One meant to preserve—or judge."
Her eyes flicked toward Max. "You feel it, don't you? Something is watching."
Max nodded slowly. He didn't feel fear. Just… anticipation. As if this place wasn't just ancient—it was expecting someone.
He turned to her. "Let's not trigger anything deeper yet. You've been pushing yourself for too long. Sit. I'll check your state."
She hesitated—then obeyed. She sat cross-legged, began cycling her inner qi. Her aura was steady but faintly flickering.
Max activated Status View again.
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🔥 [Status Window – Lian Yue]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Lian Yue
Age: 20 (Apparent) / 380 (True)
Origin: South Flame Pavilion – Phoenix Division
Realm Category: 2 – Ascension Realm
Major Realm: Spirit Ascension Realm
Minor Realm: Flame Vein (94%)
Level Segment: Peak
Level: 14
Max Lifespan: 440 years
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Bloodline: Scorched Phoenix Lineage [Hidden Branch – Dormant Core]
Physique: Burning Lotus Constitution [High-Tier – Tempered State]
Affinity: Fire Law (Intermediate – Phoenix Cycle Incomplete)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Cultivation Techniques:
• Scarlet Plum Method (Advanced – Stabilized Core)
• Lotus Bloom Flame Heart Sutra (Intermediate – Active Phase)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Martial Skills:
• Fire Spiral Step (Advanced – Agile Movement)
• Crimson Veil Slash (Basic – Swift Cut)
• Ember Lock Formation (Intermediate – Defensive Seal)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Status: Stabilizing
→ Minor Flame Core Damage (Ongoing Recovery)
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"She's on the edge," Max thought. "Another intense clash, and her core might collapse."
He silently retrieved a bottle from his pouch—Soulfire Nectar, a rare-grade recovery tonic—and placed it beside her.
"Drink this. It'll help replenish your flame reserves."
Lian Yue cracked one eye open and smiled faintly. "You keep spoiling me."
"You've already saved my life twice. Consider it overdue."
Her gaze darkened, soft smile replaced by something colder. "And I'll do it again, Max. Whatever this place is… it's not finished testing us."
He stood again, eyes locked on the floating lotus.
Origin Surge…
It wasn't from him.
It was resonating with him.
Was it the fan?
No. This felt older. Deeper.
He remembered the blurry memory… the Fan-Bearer's voice echoing in his soul:
"Even Origin may lie."
He clenched his jaw.
"I need answers. No more groping in the dark."
Then the chamber shuddered.
Cracks ran across the lotus core.
A soft pulse of light. Then—click.
A shard detached and drifted down, resting gently on the floor. Triangular, translucent, and pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.
Max approached carefully.
Origin Eyes confirmed: no trap, no curse.
He touched it.
The moment he did—the entire room froze.
The air… time itself… paused.
And then a whisper inside his mind:
"Key Two… Accepted."
His eyes widened.
Key Two? Then there was a Key One…
A groaning sound came from the wall to the right. One of the stone pillars sank, revealing a sealed door marked with a blazing emblem:
A phoenix—half in flames, half in ash.
Lian Yue stepped beside him, her expression unreadable.
"That symbol…" she said quietly. "It's from my Pavilion. But not the current one."
Her hand rose slightly, trembling.
"That phoenix… it's the Cursed Cycle. The seal of the Fallen Lineage. The one they told us never to speak of."
Max turned to her sharply. "You're sure?"
She nodded, eyes locked on the door.
"My mother told me only one thing about it… That our clan once burned itself to escape something worse. This seal… marks what they tried to bury."
And so, Chapter 26 ends—with a seal waiting to be broken, a past resurfacing through fire, and two fates growing more entangled with every step into the unknown.
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A/N
🔥 The Second Key is real—and it's tied to Max's awakening and Lian Yue's hidden lineage. The phoenix isn't just a legacy—it's a curse. What lies behind that ash-born seal? Chapter 27 will ignite more than just flames. Buckle up—we're diving into betrayals, bloodlines, and buried truths that should have never seen the light again.
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[End Of Chapter 26]
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